You know the Club Kids. No, you really do. Lady Bunny, RuPaul, Amanda Lepore, Bjork; you know these names. Well a majority of them had their breakout moments (or even their formative ones in culture) in the late 1980s and through the 1990s. There, they were part of a quasi-crew headed by Michael Alig most known for crafting the culture of and populating the buzziest New York City clubs at the time. They boasted oversized, personally crafted personas, outrageous looks, and enough cultural cache that daytime talk shows felt the need to give them a ton of air time. And without Instagram, it was photographers for magazines and newspapers that captures all of this and disseminated it around the world to amplify their impact.
In his new book, artist and jewelry designer Walt Cassidy, then known as Waltpaper, gives an ode to these often unsung heroes. New York: Club Kids by Waltpaper is a curation of Club Kid imagery, by a Club Kid, giving a look back at one of the last subcultures of the analog world.
Here, we preview select images from the book, which is available October 3. Pre-orders are available now. Read our Q&A with Walt here.
Catherine McGann, Michael Alig, Christopher Comp, and Waltpaper at Macy’s Rave, 1992. Copyright Catherine McGann. All Rights Reserved